OBAMA’S MOTHER NOT JUST A MOTHER FROM
Obama’s mother and a strong-willed, unconventional member of the
Her parents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham — he was a boisterous,
itinerant furniture salesman in downtown
bank and was the quiet yet firm influence at home — moved to
was the high school that had just opened and the opportunity it
offered for their daughter, who was then 13.
In a recent interview, Obama called his mother “the dominant figure in
my formative years. . . . The values she taught me continue to be my
touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics.”
At
Wichterman — generated regular parental thunderstorms by teaching
their students to challenge societal norms and question all manner of
authority. Foubert, who died recently, taught English. His texts were
cutting edge: “Atlas Shrugged,” “The Organization Man,” “The Hidden
Persuaders,” “1984″ and the acerbic writings of H.L. Mencken.
Wichterman taught philosophy. The hallway between the two classes
was known as “anarchy alley,” and students pondered the
challenging notions of Wichterman’s teachings, including such
philosophers as Sartre and Kierkegaard. He also touched the societal
third rail of the 1950s: He questioned the existence of God. And he
didn’t stop there.
“I had them read ‘The Communist Manifesto,’ and the parents went
nuts,” said Wichterman,
Stanley Ann began classes at the University of Hawaii in 1960, and
shortly after that, Box received a letter saying that her friend had
fallen in love with a grad student. He was black, from
named Obama.
Parental objections didn’t matter. For Stanley Ann, her new
relationship with Barack Obama and weekend discussions seemed to
be, in part, a logical extension of long coffeehouse sessions in
and the teachings of Wichterman and Foubert. The forum now
involved graduate students from the
weekends listening to jazz, drinking beer and debating politics and
world affairs.
-dr.navraj singh sandhu
Leave Your Comments